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Data from the consumer-facing website, which went live in June, shows when choosing an IFA, clients are more interested in the quality of advice, than in their proximity to the adviser.

Market research conducted by the site showed that 48 per cent of respondents would prefer to travel 30 minutes to meet an adviser rated as excellent, while only 10 per cent would prefer an adviser rated as good who is less than 10 minutes away.

A further 18 per cent would prefer to speak with an adviser rated as excellent, regardless of location, through telephone or web-conference technology. The remaining 24 per cent would not seek advice from an adviser 10 minutes from home if he was not rated as excellent.

Adam Price, founder of VouchedFor, said: “Traditionally, your financial adviser was somebody you would bump into on your local high street.

“However, with more pressure being placed on planning a successful financial future and more sophisticated communications technology, it appears that most people are happy to forego local ties to secure the best possible advice available.”

The VouchedFor website lets users rate IFAs. Other users can then find an IFA based on the ratings and, in turn, provide feedback about the advisers with whom they have dealt. Only IFAs who are fee-based and offer FSA-approved independent, whole-of-market advice are listed on the site.

Mr Price added: “This presents an opportunity for the higher-quality and tech-savvy IFAs to increase their market share and take advantage of this shift to quality over location.”